Dining out 2.0: how are chefs in restaurants preparing for reopening?
Thankfully, the measures are being eased! The terraces will probably be allowed to reopen on 1 June, and restaurants will be allowed to welcome guests again. It will take some getting used to, we still need to figure out how to make things genuinely convivial in the one-and-a-half-metre society. How can chefs keep 1.5 metres apart in a restaurant kitchen? We do have a few questions…
Do chefs have to wear a mask?
Everyone has to wear a face mask. Not to prevent you from being infected, but to prevent you from infecting other people. Does that mean chefs also have to wear a mask while working? We hear enough complaints from healthcare workers about tight masks that almost cut your ears off and leave deep marks on your cheeks. What’s more, your glasses fog up if you don’t press the face mask firmly around your nose. How will that work in a kitchen, where temperatures can get ridiculously high in summer?
How can chefs taste food with a mask on?
Tasting, tasting, tasting: hugely important in the kitchen. But now it will be: take off your face mask, taste, put on a new face mask. Then wash your hands again and put on new gloves. And that every time the face mask has been pulled down briefly to check the flavour of a dish. What do you reckon, fifty face masks per evening? More?
Will fewer people be working in the kitchen?
A spacious kitchen is great, but usually not a reality. This is precisely where as many people as possible work in as small a space as possible. With a full staff, keeping one and a half metres apart is quite a challenge. Does that mean fewer chefs will be working at the same time? Can the dishwasher still get through to slide clean pans under the worktops? Is such a small staff enough to prepare the orders, or will the menu have to be shortened?
Will they no longer be allowed to share knives and kitchen utensils?
‘Give me your tweezers for a second.’ Well, no, that’s no longer possible. Risk of infection! Cooks weren’t exactly keen on lending out their kitchen knives anyway, but other kitchen tools, such as spatulas, spoons… Better add an extra dishwasher, who can sneak through the kitchen like a ninja to thoroughly disinfect everything that has been touched.
Will we always have to make a reservation from now on?
Yes. If you want to eat at a restaurant, you’ll have to make a reservation. And when taking that reservation, they’ll ask a few questions: how are you feeling, do you have a cough, do you have a fever? Makes sense, because we want to prevent coronavirus from spreading. What happens when you’re in the city and want to have a latte? Do you call the café where you want to sit from the street corner? Or do you reserve a table through your phone? Well… it’s not getting any easier…
What does the protocol say?
Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) drew up a protocol with advice for the kitchen. It includes the following:
- Employees must wash their hands at least every thirty minutes
- Permanent crossing routes must be avoided
- Work surfaces must be cleaned every hour
- Workstations must be arranged 1.5 metres apart. Exceptions: if a proper partition is installed or if a daily check-in takes place with employees about their health before work begins and they are found to be healthy.
Meanwhile, reservations are pouring in for the upcoming reopening. Some restaurants are already fully booked for the coming period…
Read also:
- Despite coronavirus, there will still be a food truck festival soon—and it’s drive-through
- Coronavirus crisis: in Belgium, they have to eat fries twice a week
- Supermarket staff on how we can make things easier for them
